


Blooming

by Eiznel24



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gaster is smart but dumb, Gen, The danger of overthinking eh, fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 15:24:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14834841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eiznel24/pseuds/Eiznel24
Summary: This is for a challenge set by agraulisvanillae on tumblr. Thank you for lighting a fire under my ass to write <3Prompt:  "I don't have a green thumb, more like a brown thumb- NM the plant caught on fire. Black thumb?"Gaster does what he does best - tries to use his brain too hard and makes mountains out of molehills. Thankfully he has great kids.





	Blooming

“this is the third one this week, doc.”

Gaster wordlessly tossed the wilted, magic-burnt plant into the waste bin, then turned around to face Sans.

“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” he drawled airily.

The shorter monster was leaning against the doorway, arms and legs crossed and a small grin on his face.

“what, too afraid to admit that you’re able to make mistakes? c’mon, it doesn’t make ya any less of a good scientist to admit you’re goofin’ up, be _leaf_  me.”

“Ha ha. Your wit is as charming as ever.”

Sans chuckled, shrugging lightly as his eyes fell shut. “good humor is in my bones, i guess. so, why don’t we get to the  _root_  of the problem, here? what are ya even trying to do?”

His grin grew wider when Gaster turned away, arms crossing in what was obviously a defensive maneuver. The scientist took a few steps forward, his right hand leaving the safety of the crook of the opposing elbow to gesture upward.

“Well it’s a rather complicated process, but I was trying to find ways to prolong the life of the varied plantlife specimens I came across with multiple methods, such as magic infusion, various chemical compounds—”

“so you were just trying to tend to plants and made it overly complicated?”

“I…” Gaster dropped both of his arms and let his shoulders sag in defeat, his head falling slightly. “Yes.”

He heard Sans approach from behind and felt a pat against his back.

“there, see? not that hard.” The hand left him and he saw Sans walk into his peripheral vision. “hey—wait a minute.” The skeleton leaned in. “you blushin’?”

Gaster straightened and looked mildly offended. “Pardon me, but no.”

The grin on Sans’s face was nearing the side of ridiculousness, in Gaster’s professional opinion.

“pretty sure your face ain’t regularly tinged with violet, doc.”

Forcing an air of exasperation, Gaster turned away and tossed his hands in the air in a manner that he hoped was appropriately dramatic.

“Oh, for stars’ sake, Sans, what point are you trying to make with all of this nonsense?”

Sans shrugged, still smiling, and turned away to head back to the door. “i can betcha paps can help you. why don’t you ask him?”

Gaster said nothing as he watched Sans leave, his head tilted to the side.

“Papyrus?” he questioned the empty room.

* * *

“YOU REALLY WANT ME TO HELP YOU!?”

“Have I done something to make you always so unsure of whether or not I mean something?”

Papyrus’s face scrunched up, as if thinking.

“…NO? AT LEAST I DON’T THINK SO?”

“Then why do you always question my decisions?”

“BECAUSE! YOU’RE…SMART?”

Gaster raised a browridge and tilted his head to the side, his mouth quirking up on one side while he looked down at the young monster.

“And how exactly does my intelligence have any bearing on what I decide for you?”

He watched as Papyrus searched for an answer. “I…WELL BECAUSE…I…” Little arms flailed about. “OKAY YOU WIN!! SEE, YOU’RE VERY SMART!”

“Of course,” he said with a shake of his head. “In any case, Sans insinuated that you had some knowledge about guaranteeing the longevity of plantlife.”

Papyrus blinked at him, nodding slowly but having the expression of not knowing a lick of what Gaster was saying. He sighed softly, smiling at his own foolishness, then knelt down to look Papyrus squarely in the eyesockets.

“Sans said you knew how to take care of plants.”

“OH! YES I KNOW A LOT ABOUT THOSE!! THE PLANTS ARE VERY FRIENDLY TO ME OVER IN THE BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT!”

Gaster made a choked noise.

“ _They’re letting you touch the specimens in the botanical department_?” He was going to have some  _words_  with the department head.

“OF COURSE!! I WAS THE ONE THAT GOT THE….” Papyrus’s face scrunched up again. “ _AMORPHOPHALLUS TITANUM_  TO BLOOM!!” he finished with a large prideful grin. Gaster wanted to clarify that Papyrus wasn’t the one to cause the flower to bloom, but was simply lucky (a term he considered questionable considering the flower in question) that he was there the day of its once-per-decade bloom. He decided against it.

“I see. How skilled you must be.”

“I’M GREAT!”

“Yes you are.”

“I HAVE A COUPLE OF MY OWN PLANTS IF YOU WANT TO SEE! THE LADY THAT WATCHES ME WHEN I GO WAS NICE ENOUGH TO LET ME TAKE THEM!”

“You what.”

He felt warm bones wrapping around his hand and he blinked as Papyrus began pulling him to the quarters he and his brother shared. There on the small steel table where they would do the assignments Gaster would give were two (normal-looking) potted plants, one with white flowers, and another with reddish-orange bell-like blooms. They looked…remarkably healthy. A warm wash of pride coursed through his bones.

“And these are?” he asked, looking at Papyrus expectantly.

“THE WHITE ONE IS A PEACE LILY! THE OTHER ONE IS GLOXINIA! THE NICE LADY TAUGHT ME THEIR NAMES SO THAT I WOULDN’T FORGET!!”

“You are a marvelous student, Papyrus.”

“THANK YOU!!” the young monster responded, beaming. Gaster sat in the lone chair and patted his knee, inviting Papyrus to sit, which he did with all due haste.

“Here is your real test, though. You must now be the teacher. Tell me everything you know.”

Papyrus’s eyesockets practically glittered with excitement. Curious, Gaster thought with a smile.

* * *

“He really remembered everything I told him?” the amphibious monster asked with surprise. “That’s…much more than I was expecting.”

Gaster narrowed his eyesockets, his ringed eyelights briefly flashing a light violet.

“Is that an insinuation that Papyrus does not have the capacity to learn?”

She waved her webbed hands quickly, looking panicked. “NO! No, not at all, Doctor Gaster! It was just a lot of information to take in, and considering his age and…and the current limits in vocabulary, I wasn’t expecting him to take  _everything_  I said and retain it!”

His expression was one of detached disdain, his narrowed gaze still boring into hers. “Papyrus is my son; of course he would be brilliant in his own right.”

“Yes, sir. Of course.”

“Keep teaching him,” he said in dismissal, turning away with a (frankly dramatic, if he was honest with himself) flare of his lab coat. “He seems to be greatly interested in the subject and shows promise.”

“Yes, Doctor Gaster.”

He heard Sans snicker from behind a pillar several feet ahead of him. Gaster felt himself smile.

“protective, huh?”

“You are both remarkable monsters. Why should I not be?”

“i’m sure paps wouldn’t mind someone else’s opinion of him. ain’t true in the end, right?”

Gaster shot him a knowing look.

“But their opinion of him matters to  _us_ , now doesn’t it?”

Sans grinned in return.

“yep.”

_My pride and joy, my sons._

**Author's Note:**

> I DIDN'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO END THIS I'M SORRY.


End file.
